This reading group explores how science has been studied around the world from antiquity to modernity. We will read primary sources and recent scholarly books on a diverse range of subjects from a variety of historical contexts, including, for example, medicine in the Abbasid Caliphate, record keeping in Song China, and natural history in Tokugawa Japan.

By examining how knowledge was sought in different contexts, we will not only learn about the world beyond Europe and the United States, but we will also explore broad questions, such as: what is science and is it a universal concept? is science an appropriate category of analysis for non-European cultures? how do different philosophical foundations inform the pursuit of knowledge? how do language and legal traditions inform knowledge-making and vice versa? how do different political, economic, and social circumstances shape the production of knowledge?

Contact: Lillian E. Datchev